I enjoy premieres where the artistic director steps on stage to give a welcoming blurb. David Hallberg’s are always laced with a little challenge. For the Sydney premiere of Australian Ballet's Instruments of Dance, he finished with: “Enjoy, and have an opinion about it! Like some, don’t like some, that’s what art’s about.”
With that blessing, I went on to like and dislike parts of this triple bill. It opened with the weakest piece, Wayne McGregor’s all-male and very banal Obsidian Tear. Choreographed for nine men, the programme describes it as an “exploration of geology, myth and the violent effects of emotion on the body”. The ballet focuses on the seemingly complex relationship between the black-clad Callum Linnane and the red-wearing Adam Elmes. I say “seemingly” because their dynamic was choreographed very poorly – it was tortured in that one-dimensional, typical modern dance sort of way that assumes intense emotions make up for bad choreography. With their rippling naked torsos and flowing pants, this section looked like a cheap rip-off of Jiří Kylián’s Bella Figura, but without the lyrical beauty. They were joined by seven other men, also dressed in black (costumes designed by no less than seven designers, of the like of Vivienne Westwood). In some unsubtle symbolism, and in what looked like an imitation of Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring, Elmes’ red pants prove too much for the men in black. He is attacked by the mob and ultimately thrown off the stage by Linnane, who promptly has a breakdown. At this point it was hard to know why I should care, since everything before felt like pretentious melodrama.
This was no fault of the dancers, who showcased some exceptional male dancing despite the lacklustre choreography and Esa-Pekka Salonen's uneven score. Elmes, picked from the corps, was especially good and a strong match for Linnane, a principal dancer. Adam Bull – always physically and artistically magnificent – also shone, overcoming even his unflattering costume.
Alice Topp’s Annealing was a breath of fresh air – her choreography is emotionally intense, but rarely has the pretentiousness that made Obsidian Tear so tiring. Annealing is about the strength that comes in vulnerability, and the title comes from the name of the heat treatment process used to shape and strengthen glass and other metals. It is visually spectacular, danced on a set of imposing glass panels with the dancers clothed in silver and gold. At one point the full ensemble of 50 dancers assembled on stage, decked in magnificent golden robes which they swished about; I felt I’d been transported to some exotic, futuristic feudal society. There were also lyrical duets and solos interspersed throughout. Elmes impressed again, this time partnered with the equally compelling Samara Merrick, a powerhouse of physicality and focus.
The final piece was Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go. One of the exciting aspects of Hallberg’s leadership is the set of international repertory he is breathing into the company, and I am sure Australian audiences will be intrigued to see a Peck work in real life after years of watching on Instagram. Everywhere We Go is – like a lot of Peck’s choreography – clever, geometrically dazzling, and touched with a sort of American showiness and speed. It was also the first piece in a long-running collaboration with the popular indie-folk-turned-symphony musician, Sufjan Stevens. Described in the programme as “kaleidoscopic”, every second brings a new surprise of unexpected shapes, leaps and kinks in phrasing. The piece is also just exceedingly happy. I felt like I’d stumbled on a school of joyous American dolphins, frolicking on some kind of dolphin summer camp.
It took a little while for the dancers to warm into the fast choreography and come to grips with its speed and attack. The exception was the fabulous Brett Chynoweth, who seemed in his element from the get-go. His great strengths have always been a fleet-footed lightness combined with swift precision and a warm stage presence – all naturally suited to Peck’s NYCB style of dance. He was an absolute delight every time he appeared on stage. Dana Stephensen was also wonderful, showing beautiful lines and long hyper-extensions as she leaned into the recurring arabesques of her solos.
All in all, this is a thought-provoking triple bill. Whilst it didn’t match the perfection of this year's Kunstkamer, the company is making huge technical and artistic strides under Hallberg’s leadership. I was particularly pleased to see his readiness to cast younger company members in leading roles, with Elmes and Merrick plucked from the corps. Also impressive were corps members Elijah Trevitt, who had solos in Annealing, and Annabelle Watt, whose sunny radiance stood out even from the corps lines in Everywhere We Go. With this kind of up-and-coming talent being nurtured, the company’s future looks exciting.
